Depth carries #27 women's tennis past #33 Trinity, 5-4

Depth carries #27 women's tennis past #33 Trinity, 5-4

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The Brandeis women's tennis team, ranked 27th in the most recent ITA Division III national poll, used their depth today to rally from a 4-2 deficit headed into the final three matches to defeat host Trinity (Conn.) College, the No. 33 team in the poll, by a 5-4 score. The Judges improve to 7-8 on the season, while the Bantams fall to 3-6. The win was Brandeis's sixth in their last seven matches. It was also the Judges' first victory over Trinity since the 2007-08 season.

Brandeis took a 2-1 lead after doubles action. The squads split 8-3 decisions in the first two matches that were decided. Trinity's duo of Morgan Feldman and Melita Ferjanic won at No. 1, while Judge rookie Charlotte Aaron (Phoenix, Ariz./Arcadia) and sophomore Sarita Biswas (Bedford, Mass./Bedford) won at No. 3. Brandeis took the 2-1 lead into singles play with a marathon 9-7 win by senior Dylan Schlesinger (Miami, Fla./Palmetto) and junior Maya Vasser (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle). 

Playing indoors on three courts, the top three singles matches went first, and the Bantams swept all three to take their 4-2 lead. Trinity's Vanja Babunski rolled to a 6-0, 6-1, at No. 3 to tie the match against senior Simone Vandroff (Moss Beach, Calif./Half Moon Bay). Ferjanic defeated senior Carley Cooke (San Diego, Calif./Point Loma) at No. 1, while Feldman topped rookie Haley Cohen (Cherry Hill, N.J./Laurel Springs) by the same score at No. 2 to put the home team within one point of victory. 

In the second set of singles matches, Brandeis started their comeback. At No. 5, Vasser picked up a 6-2, 6-1, win over Carolyn Zimmer. In the longest match of the day (by number of games), junior Emily Eska (Princeton, Mass./Wachusett Regional) emerged with a 7-5, 6-1, win over Ana Aliev, tying the score at 4-4. The match was decided at No. 6, where Charlotte Aaron won her second match of the day, topping Emily Curtis, 6-2, 6-1. 

Brandeis will try to get back to the .500 mark at home tomorrow against Simmons College at 1 p.m.